Overall, a good film, a worthy addition to the franchise. Apart from wishing it had been filmed in Comanche, with subtitles, my one complaint is the lead actress. At no point does she appear afraid. Not once. She's more confident than Roger Moore in a Bond film, never ONCE showing the slightest trace of appreciation or fear. She runs from a bear and drags herself from quicksand, and she trades blows with fellow tribesmen and she fights an alien -- never once displaying anything but utter confidence. There's no frailty here.
I have no problem with empowered women. I'm not one of those bigoted man-babies, who attack films simply because they dare have strong female leads. My favorite film is "Mad Max Fury Road." In my opinion, it's the best action film ever made, and Charlize Theron deserved the 2016 Best Actress Oscar. Not that Tom Hardy wasn't excellent as well. He was. But Theron's performance was the soul -- and the rage -- of that film. Furiosa eclipses the majority of male action heroes -- and she could probably hold her own against the few that are actually in her league. Yet beneath all her formidable skills, there's a human being. Vulnerable, capable of fear as well as determination.
From Stallone in the original "First Blood" to Willis in "Die Hard" -- and Schwarzenegger in "Predator" -- memorable heroes show fear of death. They know damn well, their lives are on the line. We never see that here. Midthunder is utterly confident throughout, almost to the point of arrogance. At the end, she's 100% certain her plan will work -- and by that time, I found myself rooting for the Predator. I really mean that. She sits there --
=== SPOILER ALERT! ===
-- at the end while Predator advances -- "Come on! COME ON! This is as far as you go. No further." -- absolutely KNOWING her plan will work. I knew damn well, the Predator was toast -- but I was honestly hoping Midthunder's skull would end up on his wall.
Also, there were a few "gimme a frigging break" scenes. At one point, Midthunder asks fellow tribesmen "what scared the cat away from injured so and so?" and "what skins a snake like that? "-- because, gee, white men with guns who shoot mountain lions and who make belts out of snakes never occurred to her. It's like the filmmakers felt she had to be unrealistically intuitive -- almost psychically knowing something was amiss. That's lazy storytelling. If you want intelligent characters, make them intelligent -- not ridiculously intuitive.
She's resourceful. She's intelligent. She's stronger than half the guys in her tribe. But without true human emotion -- true fear -- "What the hell IS that that's trying to kill me, I don't want to die" -- without that, she's Chuck Norris in "Invasion USA" or Roger Moore in take-your-pick 007. Sarah Connor, Furiosa and Ripley -- hands down, the best female action heroines ever put on film -- were real people. In addition to being empowered, back-off-or-die kick-ass women, they were at times afraid. Uncertain. Terrified. If Ripley had strolled up to the Alien Queen with zero fear -- more confident than Meryl Streep on Oscar night -- no one would remember her. Even frigging Chuck Norris managed to display genuine fear -- genuine human emotion -- in "Hero and the Terror." He was scared sh!tless, and it made his character believable. As opposed to the "I'm cool, nothing phases me" cardboard cut-out he portrayed in the "Missing in Action" films.
The filmmakers of "Pray" had so little confidence in Midthunder's character -- or perhaps contempt for the viewer -- they chose to make her "empowered" by surrounding her with Idiot Alpha Males. Imagine if Christopher Nolan had surrounded Cillian Murphy with imbeciles in "Oppenheimer" -- simply to convey the main character's intelligence. "Gee, see how SMART he is? He's not an idiot like all those others!" Because that's exactly what we have with "Prey." They conveyed Midthunder's "empowerment and strength" by surrounding her with Alpha Male Stereotypes, and denying her character even a modicum of fear.
The INSTANT we meet Furiosa in "Fury Road" or Vasquez in "Aliens," we know they are bad-asses. They weren't propped up my male stupidity. Whereas Midthunder's entire identity is "Empowered Fearless Woman Surrounded By Idiot Men." The only true "sympathy" I felt in the entire film was when her brother died. Just another Alpha Male Jerk, but at least he was somewhat sympathetic.
It's not that Midthunder was miscast. If Chuck Norris can evoke genuine human emotion, I'm sure Midthunder can. Too bad no one suggested it to her.
Overall "Prey" is a good film. Had Midthunder shown one ounce of apprehension or fear, it would have been a great film.
I have no problem with empowered women. I'm not one of those bigoted man-babies, who attack films simply because they dare have strong female leads. My favorite film is "Mad Max Fury Road." In my opinion, it's the best action film ever made, and Charlize Theron deserved the 2016 Best Actress Oscar. Not that Tom Hardy wasn't excellent as well. He was. But Theron's performance was the soul -- and the rage -- of that film. Furiosa eclipses the majority of male action heroes -- and she could probably hold her own against the few that are actually in her league. Yet beneath all her formidable skills, there's a human being. Vulnerable, capable of fear as well as determination.
From Stallone in the original "First Blood" to Willis in "Die Hard" -- and Schwarzenegger in "Predator" -- memorable heroes show fear of death. They know damn well, their lives are on the line. We never see that here. Midthunder is utterly confident throughout, almost to the point of arrogance. At the end, she's 100% certain her plan will work -- and by that time, I found myself rooting for the Predator. I really mean that. She sits there --
=== SPOILER ALERT! ===
-- at the end while Predator advances -- "Come on! COME ON! This is as far as you go. No further." -- absolutely KNOWING her plan will work. I knew damn well, the Predator was toast -- but I was honestly hoping Midthunder's skull would end up on his wall.
Also, there were a few "gimme a frigging break" scenes. At one point, Midthunder asks fellow tribesmen "what scared the cat away from injured so and so?" and "what skins a snake like that? "-- because, gee, white men with guns who shoot mountain lions and who make belts out of snakes never occurred to her. It's like the filmmakers felt she had to be unrealistically intuitive -- almost psychically knowing something was amiss. That's lazy storytelling. If you want intelligent characters, make them intelligent -- not ridiculously intuitive.
She's resourceful. She's intelligent. She's stronger than half the guys in her tribe. But without true human emotion -- true fear -- "What the hell IS that that's trying to kill me, I don't want to die" -- without that, she's Chuck Norris in "Invasion USA" or Roger Moore in take-your-pick 007. Sarah Connor, Furiosa and Ripley -- hands down, the best female action heroines ever put on film -- were real people. In addition to being empowered, back-off-or-die kick-ass women, they were at times afraid. Uncertain. Terrified. If Ripley had strolled up to the Alien Queen with zero fear -- more confident than Meryl Streep on Oscar night -- no one would remember her. Even frigging Chuck Norris managed to display genuine fear -- genuine human emotion -- in "Hero and the Terror." He was scared sh!tless, and it made his character believable. As opposed to the "I'm cool, nothing phases me" cardboard cut-out he portrayed in the "Missing in Action" films.
The filmmakers of "Pray" had so little confidence in Midthunder's character -- or perhaps contempt for the viewer -- they chose to make her "empowered" by surrounding her with Idiot Alpha Males. Imagine if Christopher Nolan had surrounded Cillian Murphy with imbeciles in "Oppenheimer" -- simply to convey the main character's intelligence. "Gee, see how SMART he is? He's not an idiot like all those others!" Because that's exactly what we have with "Prey." They conveyed Midthunder's "empowerment and strength" by surrounding her with Alpha Male Stereotypes, and denying her character even a modicum of fear.
The INSTANT we meet Furiosa in "Fury Road" or Vasquez in "Aliens," we know they are bad-asses. They weren't propped up my male stupidity. Whereas Midthunder's entire identity is "Empowered Fearless Woman Surrounded By Idiot Men." The only true "sympathy" I felt in the entire film was when her brother died. Just another Alpha Male Jerk, but at least he was somewhat sympathetic.
It's not that Midthunder was miscast. If Chuck Norris can evoke genuine human emotion, I'm sure Midthunder can. Too bad no one suggested it to her.
Overall "Prey" is a good film. Had Midthunder shown one ounce of apprehension or fear, it would have been a great film.
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